You can kick off your holiday season with a children's-book icon. Or at a Christmas-themed sequel set in a wacky little wide spot on a Texas highway. Or with a quartet of sisters named for a crisp-textured fabric.

Or, with some creative scheduling, you can do all three.

At Western Washington Center for the Arts in Port Orchard, a musical based on the "Junie B. Jones" books opens Nov.16 for a five-weekend run. The same night, the Jewel Box in Poulsbo offers up a sequel to "Greater Tuna," this time following the Christmastime exploits of the residents of tiny Tuna, Texas.

Also Nov. 16, Paradise Theatre puts up its first show at a new venue, transforming the Rosedale Community Hall into the Muncie, Indiana studio where the Taffeta Sisters produce their television holiday revue.

Libby McDonald plays the title role in "Junie B. Jones, the Musical."(Photo: Contributed image)

‘Junie B. Jones, the Musical’

WWCA's pre-holidays offering isn't a Christmas show as such, director Rebecca Ewen admitted. But the family-friendly show still is perfect for the season, she said, and one she said she thinks will be a popular draw with the younger set.

"I'm a substitute teacher in my real-life job," she chuckled, "and I still see kids reading (the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park) all the time. I grew up on them, as a lot of people did."

The play follows the first-grade adventures of Junie B. Jones and her friends — "getting glasses, the kickball tournament, the lunch lady," Ewen listed. "It's a collection of stories from the books.

Set to music, that is. Ewen's young cast, led by Libby McDonald (Jane Banks in last year's "Mary Poppins") in the title role, will be accompanied through the songs by Ewen's father, WWCA fixture Bruce Ewen, on keyboards and programs.

"The music is really upbeat and fun. They're like bursts of energy," she said. "There are lots of doo-wop parts. My dad likes it, if that tells you anything."

Ewen said she had no compunction about placing "Junie B. Jones" in the theater's holiday slot. She said the thinks audiences will enjoy the show as much as her young cast — which is pretty much culled from WWCA's youth classes and workshops.

"It's something different, too," she said. "There aren't as many Christmas shows (to choose from) as people think, especially for kids to be a part of. I think it works really well in this slot."

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 16. Tickets and information: 360-769-7469, wwca.us. The theater is at 521 Bay St.

‘A Tuna Christmas’

Linda Jensen directed the JB's 2012 production of "Greater Tuna," with Steven Buechler and Chris Dolan quick-changing their way into about two dozen of the denizens of perhaps Texas' quirkiest town.

This time out, Jewel Box newcomers Stephanie Turcotte and Alan Lerdo change characters about as fast as they can change hats, bringing the town's offbeat population back to life in a plot revolving around — among other things — efforts to unseat 14-time champion Vera Camp from the throne of the annual lawn-display contest.

"A Tuna Christmas" has been a popular attraction in several past Kitsap holiday seasons. Changing Scene Theatre Northwest (since relocated to Tacoma) mounted productions of it in 2005, 2006 and 2010.

‘A Taffeta Christmas’

Paradise will utilize not one, but two temporary venues to get their holiday show in the books. The show runs at the Rosedale Community Hall through Dec. 8, but the Nov. 23 and 24 shows will be at the Key Peninsula Civic Center.

The Gig Harbor company found themselves homeless — again — after skyrocketing rent forced them from their stage of three years in a Judson Street storefront. They vacated that spot at the end of their fall production of "Frankenstein."

Vicki Richards, who runs Paradise with her husband, Jeff, directs "Taffata," which features Shannon Burch, Diane Daniels, Chelsea Pedro and Madelyn Bjorn as the sisters as they perform the Christmas edition of their "Hometown Hoedown" TV show.

Performances are 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 8, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees except Nov. 17, when there'll be an evening show only. Tickets and information: 253-851-7529, paradisetheatre.org; paradisetheatre.thundertix.com/events/140425. The Rosedale Community Center is at 8205 86th Ave. NW and the Key Peninsula Civic Center (Nov. 23 and 24) is at 17010 S Vaughn Rd NW in Vaughn.